


for tonight and tomorrow too

by tusslee



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Background Promptio, Dancing, First Kiss, Fluff, Getting Together, Its a good time, M/M, Some pining, They love each other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-24
Updated: 2017-10-24
Packaged: 2019-01-22 05:21:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,563
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12474392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tusslee/pseuds/tusslee
Summary: Ignis takes his hand and lets himself be pulled close until he’s chest to chest with Noct. “What’s the occasion?” He wonders.“I wanted to dance with you.” Noct says bluntly. It catches Ignis off guard and his face betrays him, cheeks growing warm. He hopes Noct thinks it’s because of the heat from the fire rather than embarrassment.





	for tonight and tomorrow too

**Author's Note:**

> Ed Sheeran's Perfect came on while I was driving home in the rain and well, this was much more romantic in my head.
> 
> all mistakes are my own, apologies in advance for any errors

“This is stupid, Ignis.” Noct says as his advisor counts their steps aloud and ignores the toes stomping on his own for the fifth time. 

What Noct means, Ignis is sure, is that he _feels_ stupid because he’s rather horrid at dancing, but he’s only just learning. 

“Highness,” Ignis sighs, “if you would allow someone else to teach you I’m certain you would get the hang of it fairly quickly. I am no expert.”

“I don’t want another teacher.” Noct argues. 

Noctis is only two years younger than Ignis, but occasionally the gap seems much greater when the prince whines like this. Though, Ignis has always been mature for his age so he wonders if it’s not himself that’s strange. 

Noct is quickly approaching his thirteenth birthday and he still doesn’t know how to dance. After refusing a tutor, Ignis had been tasked to teach him the basics if nothing else so the prince could participate in the odd gala rather than hide hopelessly along the walls. 

Ignis is well aware of Noct’s aversion to crowds and he doesn’t blame him, though it’s his duty to make nice with the public and it’s Ignis’s job to advise him how to go about doing just that. He doesn’t necessarily object to the king’s conclusion of putting him in charge of Noct’s dance lessons, but Ignis finds this kind of proximity awkward and he’s slipped up at least twice because his concentration, usually ever rapt, has faltered. 

“Focus then and we’ll put those two left feet to good use.” Ignis says, tugs Noct’s hand up higher and tightens his grip on his shoulder. “Your lady will not appreciate her feet being stepped on the entire night. Do try and count. It will help.”

Ignis tries to ignore how warm the hand on his waist is. He knows very well these butterflies that have been plaguing his insides are not only inconvenient, but highly inappropriate and he sort of hates himself for even letting his eyes linger a moment too long on Noct’s lips, but often he’s not even aware of his actions until it’s already too late. 

The good thing, he supposes, is that Noct doesn’t seem put out other than perhaps a bit embarrassed by his own lack of skill. Noct begins to count along with Ignis until Ignis stops and lets Noct truly lead. It’s by no means perfect, but it’s a start.

-

“Hey, Specs.” Noct greets when Ignis appears in the mirror behind him, “What’d you think?” He turns once, too fast for Ignis to really get a good look at the whole outfit, but he knows it’s tailored perfectly and the color accentuates the prince’s bright eyes. 

“Dashing, Highness. Will you be dancing this evening?” Ignis asks, knows the king would be pleased to see Noct enjoying himself, but it’s a rather farfetched hope. 

Noct rubs the back of his neck and stares down at his feet, “Honestly? I haven’t danced with anyone since my thirteenth birthday and I wasn’t very good then so…” He trails off.

“I suppose it’s good that it’s been a few years.” Ignis states as he begins to shrug out of his suit jacket. “I’ve learned quite a bit myself and I think it would be beneficial for you to know how to waltz. His Majesty would like nothing more than to see you amid the crowd this evening.” He holds his hands out, waiting for Noct.

Noct shuffles forward and takes one of Ignis’s hands, his other settling on the man’s slim waist. “This is still kind of stupid.”

“Nonsense. You only feel silly because it’s new. Follow my lead to begin and when you understand the movement, I will let you lead.” Ignis doesn’t bother hiding his fond smile. The prince still has two left feet, but without shoes on his steps are lighter and the socked-toes that graze Ignis’s feet don’t feel like much at all. Noct is a far better dancer than what he started out as, though his nervousness still shows. 

“I should put shoes on.” Noct mumbles, his eyes trained on his feet.

“It makes little difference, Highness. This way you’re not scuffing my own shoes.” Ignis says. Noct ducks his head and slows to a stop. “I was teasing, Noct. You’ve improved greatly.”

Noct catches his bottom lip between his teeth and nods. He threads his fingers through Ignis’s for a better grip on his hand and curls his fingers against his waist, steps a little closer, “I’ll get better.” 

Ignis allows the hand on Noct’s shoulder to travel up and cup his prince’s cheek, “I’m certain you will. Practice makes perfect after all and with me as your teacher, I should hope you only continue to improve.”

The moment lasts a lifetime for Ignis, who does not go out of his way to be this physically close to Noct because he knows there’s a fine line between his emotions and his duty. He cares for Noct, he always has, so this revelation is not new. But a fleeting crush turned something deeper is not what he had hoped for. Ignis is selfish, though, and he cherishes rare moments like these. 

Noct leads, turns and steps while he counts silently, pulling Ignis along with him with a confidence Ignis has only ever dreamed about. Noct can be cocky, but this is new. 

“I’ll make a deal with you.” Noct says.

“Hm?”

“I’ll dance tonight if you’ll dance with me.” His confidence seems to vanish the moment the proposition leaves his mouth. His eyes dart back down to stare at their feet and his cheeks color. 

Ignis weighs the pros and cons. Noct dancing with a man would not cause an uproar like it may have many years ago, times have changed, but Noct dancing with his chamberlain is another story. Ignis knows his place and while it may be beside Noct, his hands are not meant to touch more than his highness’s clothes. Yet, their fingers remain tangled between each other and the hand at his waist grips possessively. And who is he to refuse his prince..?

“Very well. One dance.” Ignis decides. A single dance should cause no fuss.

“Three.” Noct says and though his head is ducked, his voice doesn’t waver. 

“Highness,”

Noct looks up finally and meets Ignis’s eyes, “I don’t wanna dance with a bunch of strangers, Specs.”

“I heard rumor you invited Prompto this evening. Would he not enjoy dancing with you?” Ignis searches for an excuse, any excuse really.

“Prom can’t dance to save his life.” Noct lies. Prompto dances much better than he can, but he doesn’t want to dance with him. 

“I’m certain you could find someone suitab-”

“Do you not want to dance with me?” Noct interrupts, hurt clear in his tone. Ignis doesn’t like that at all.

They stop, hands falling away from each other, but they remain standing close enough to feel one another’s breath, “I would be honored to dance with you, Highness.”

“Then what’s the problem?” Noct crosses his arms over his chest and pouts, a look he wore more often when he was closer to eleven rather than seventeen. 

Ignis sighs and resists the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose in frustration. He removes his glasses and rubs at his eyes, “There is no problem, Noct. You should worry about repercussions, however. It will not look proper.”

“You think I care what they think?”

“You should. One day it will be you these people look to and I would hope you’d want their respect.” Noct plucks Ignis’s glasses from his hands and hooks two fingers in the collar of his shirt, yanking him down eyelevel with him.

“If their respect for me is determined by who I dance with for an evening, I’m not so sure I want it at all.” Noct hisses. His eyes blaze, the kind of passion Ignis only sees in them when fishing. “I don’t care how it looks, Ignis. I’m not asking you as the prince,” his voice softens and so does the grip on Ignis’s shirt, “I’m asking you as just Noct. Will you dance with me tonight?”

Ignis knows he should stand his ground, but refusing Noct is not something he does well and never has been. “Rather than as your advisor, as your friend… yes. I’ll accompany you this evening.” The soft smile he receives in response makes whatever repercussions will be sure to come more than worth it.

-

The rain lets up by the time they reach the haven they’ll spend the night at. They’re low on gas and gil and too far out from a proper motel so while it’s raining, they’ll have to manage in the tent for the evening. 

“Camping sucks when it rains.” Noct complains as he helps Gladio pitch the tent. Prompto tries his best to help Ignis get a small fire going so they can at least cook something little. He holds the umbrella over Ignis and the fire pit while Ignis casts low-level fire spells at the damp wood. It catches eventually and he hurries to fan the flames.

By the time the tent is set up and their bags are tossed inside, Ignis has a subpar (by his own standards at least) dinner prepared and the rain has all but gone. A light mist hovers, but the leaves of the trees above them catch most of what’s still coming down. 

“How about that MP3 player you picked up today, Noct? Anything good on it?” Gladio asks between bites as they all wolf down their food. 

“It’s got stuff from ages ago, nothing new at all.” Noct says around a mouthful.

“What did you expect? It’s an _MP3 player_. Those things are as old as they come.” Prompto says and snags the small device from Noct. “It doesn’t even have speakers so you can’t play anything out loud.”

“Don’t you have one of those portable speakers?” Noct asks.

Prompto jumps up, empty plate falling to the ground. “Yeah! Oh man, good thinking Noct!” He disappears into the tent for several minutes and emerges with a cord and small cylindrical device in hand. He plugs the cord into the MP3 player and the speaker then searches for a song while the rest of them finish their food and Ignis collects dirty dishes to wash later.

When he finally settles on a song, Ignis is surprised by just how old the music is. Noct wasn’t kidding. “Is that Sinatra?” 

“Yep! Good ear, Iggy.” Prompto sets the speaker and MP3 player in his seat as he stands and offers a hand to Gladio, “May I have this dance?”

Gladio rolls his eyes, but allows Prompto to haul him to his feet and they begin dancing with a surprising grace. 

“Specs?” Ignis turns his attention back to Noct, but he’s no longer seated on the opposite side of the fire. He stands beside Ignis’s chair, hand outstretched and shy smile tugging at his lips, “Dance with me?”

Ignis takes his hand and lets himself be pulled close until he’s chest to chest with Noct. “What’s the occasion?” He wonders.

“I wanted to dance with you.” Noct says bluntly. It catches Ignis off guard and his face betrays him, cheeks growing warm. He hopes Noct thinks it’s because of the heat from the fire rather than embarassment. 

“You’ve improved yet again.” Ignis notices as Noct leads them effortlessly in a small circle. Not once does he step on Ignis’s toes. 

“Prompto gave me some tips.” Noct admits.

“I recall you telling me Prompto couldn’t dance to save his life.”

“Hey!” Prompto’s head snaps up from where he’d been resting it against Gladio’s chest. “I’m a great dancer.”

“His words, not mine.” Ignis insists. “Which means you lied to me.” He says softly, words only for Noct’s ears.

Noct looks sheepish, “Yeah,” he shrugs, “I needed an excuse to dance with you that night. Just you.”

“You should have merely asked."

“I did, Specs, but that’s not what I meant and it’s not what I mean now.”

Ignis quiets his thoughts and tamps down his hopes because soon, so soon, his prince will be getting married and it’s not his place but… “And precisely what do you mean, Highness?” 

Noct searches for the right words, but they don’t come. There are a million things he can think to say, all equally embarrassing, but wholly true. He’s loved Ignis for as long as he can remember, but his responsibilities and all the expectations thrust upon him as prince have always come first, Ignis made sure of that. He’s thankful for him, but nothing he says will ever be able to express exactly how thankful. Noct has never been very good with words, but Ignis knows this, so he thinks he’ll understand. 

Ignis watches Noct lean in and does nothing to stop him like he should. In fact, he finds himself meeting him halfway and the gentle brush of lips against his own speaks volumes. 

There’s a whistle from their left, but they don’t part. Ignis can feel Noct smile against his lips when they hear Gladio mutter, “Finally.” Noct cups Ignis’s face and Ignis tangles his fingers in the prince’s hair, holding him close. 

“Noct,” Ignis says when they finally separate, “I’m afraid this cannot continue as much as I’d like for it to. You’re betrothed if you recall.”

“Does your brain ever take a vacation, Specs?” Noct sighs.

“I’m afraid not.”

“Let me have this night. Just this once, Ignis. D’you have any idea how long I’ve wanted to do that?” Noct’s thumbs run gently along Ignis’s cheeks.

“And what of Lady Lunafreya?” Ignis asks. He cards his hand through Noct’s hair, brushing the still-damp locks away from his face until they fall right back into place. He can’t afford to let himself be swept away like this, but it’s so easy when all he’s ever wanted is being handed to him. 

“She’s not you. She’ll never be you.” Noct kisses him again, lips searching and hands eager as they fall away from Ignis’s face to slide along his sides. “It’s always only been you, Specs.”

“Noct-”

“Ignis,” Noct pleads, “if this isn’t what you want, fine. But if you want this as much as I do, as much as it _feels_ like you do, _please_ don’t say no.”

Ignis presses his forehead against Noct’s and sighs, warm breath fanning over Noct’s face, “You should know I could never refuse you, Highness.”

“I love you.” Noct breathes, “I’ve always loved you.” He peppers kisses along Ignis’s throat, murmuring against his skin, “So much. Gods, Ignis.”

“And I you, Noctis. You’ve held my heart since we were children. I’ve been foolishly pining for years, Highness.” Ignis admits breathlessly.

 

The two are too wrapped up in each other to notice Gladio and Prompto sneaking off back toward the Regalia. “It won’t be for just tonight, I hope you know.” Prompto says as he fumbles with the key while Gladio’s large hands settle on his waist and his weight presses along his back. 

“Oh I know. They’ll figure it out, though. Iggy is smart and Noct is good at getting what he wants.” Gladio presses a kiss just below Prompto’s ear, “Like someone else I know.”

Prompto giggles as he gets the door unlocked, “Whatever works.”


End file.
